WinInfo Daily Update, February 14, 2006: Windows Defender Beta 2 Now Available

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==== In the News ====

- Windows Defender Beta 2 Now Available
- Microsoft Ships Office Live Preview

by Paul Thurrott, [email protected]

Windows Defender Beta 2 Now Available

Several readers pointed me to a download link on the Microsoft Web site last night for Windows Defender Beta 2, Microsoft's long-awaited follow-up to Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta 1, which the company released more than a year ago. Since the initial public beta, Microsoft has worked to turn Defender into a hands-off service that features a better spyware detection and removal engine, a more user-friendly interface, and compatibility with Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4 and later) Windows XP (SP2 and later and x64), and Windows Server 2003 (SP1 and later).

Microsoft will officially announce Defender Beta 2 at the RSA Conference 2005 on Tuesday in San Jose, California. If you're interested in downloading and testing Defender Beta 2, there are two versions available on the Microsoft Web site, one for 32-bit systems and one for Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

I've been working with the Defender Beta 2 code for some time. My exhaustive review of this release will be available on the SuperSite for Windows later today.
http://www.itprotoday.com

Microsoft Ships Office Live Preview

The Office Live preview will open Wednesday to 100,000 beta participants, Microsoft said. During the beta, the services will be free, but when the final versions appear later this year, some of the offerings will be fee- or subscription fee-based.

Office Live will be available in three service levels. The first, Office Live Basics, includes a free (but advertiser-supported) Web site, domain name, and five email addresses. The second service level is called Microsoft Office Live Collaboration. It will charge a subscription fee and is a solution for small businesses that already have a Web site and domain but want to take advantage of the Office Live business applications and various intranet/extranet experiences. The third service level is a high-end offering called Office Live Essentials. This top-tier Office Live service includes the Web site, domain name, and email addresses and also offers more storage and a total of 50 email accounts, as well as the business applications and intranet/extranet offerings. Essentials customers can use the email accounts in unique ways; for example, accounts might be created for aliases for sales or support, and messages to those accounts will be automatically forward to specific people in the company.

I've written a preview of Office Live for the SuperSite for Windows, but I've been working with the beta code and will soon post a second preview that focuses on my hands-on experience with the services. Stay tuned.
http://www.itprotoday.com/article/reviews/office-live-preview.aspx

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